The roots of the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival can be traced to the seventies when Tony Award-winning producer John Glines hosted the first event in New York City. The festival, which is "World's Fair" in concept usually floats for 4-6 years until a host is found to implement the event. Most recent festivals include Phoenix in 1992 and Los Angeles in 1996. In 2002, the festival was brought to Columbus Ohio by Frank Barnhart Of Act Out Productions where it resided for four years. Beginning in 2002, the Columbus festival was featured as a bi-annual event.